1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for validating and paying out coins.
2. Description of the Related Art
An apparatus for validating and paying out coins is known that is arranged in service equipment such as an automatic vending machine, change machine, etc. for validating dropped coins, sorting and storing coins determined as current coins by the denomination and paying out, as required, coins corresponding to an amount of change from the stored coins. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-161825, for example, handles a mechanism for paying out coins of an apparatus for validating and paying out coins as above. The above coin pay-out mechanism comprises a pair of pay-out cams driven by a single driving motor through driving force transmitting means such as a gear and rotating in one direction per pay-out operation, a pay-out link reciprocating from an initial position by engagement with a projecting portion on a lower surface of the pay-out cam when the pay-out cam is rotated in one direction, a pay-out slide detachably mounted to the pay-out link and reciprocating together with the pay-out link, and a solenoid actuator controlling operation of a slide member so that the slide member selectively closes a slit for paying out coins formed in the pay-out slide by vertically moving a control lever.
Recently, with the purpose of protecting automatic vending machines installed outside from crimes, a user of the automatic vending machine might mount an antitheft device in close proximity to a coin slot of the automatic vending machine. At mounting of the antitheft device, a hole for a bolt or screwing is opened on the outer surface close to the coin slot of the automatic vending machine, but extraneous objects generated at that time (mainly metal fragments or chips) might enter the apparatus for validating and paying out coins mounted inside the automatic vending machine and adhere to the coin pay-out mechanism, particularly to the vicinity of the solenoid actuator, which causes a problem of malfunction of the coin pay-out mechanism.
[Patent Document] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Gazette No. H11-161825